Crowning the City Alpha
by ArianBerk0409
Summary: "We should go to the woods one night and wolf out!" "I can't..." "Can't?" "Can't!" "Oh! But..." "Yeah, I know 'it'll happen TJ, when the times right TJ'... I'm sick of waiting!" Well, what if he didn't have to? Based on events thru Season 4x7, TJ finally finds his wolf.


TJ POV

Ever since I was young, I longed for the day I would finally transform, to be truly one of my kind. I could picture it so clearly nowadays: the full moon, fat and silver in the sky; running on all fours with the wind streaming through my fur, pinning my ears back, tail flying.

When Jana arrived, I was elated. Mum had told me another young Wolfblood was going to be working with her at Segolia, and would be boarding with us.

Finally, another Wolfblood to share the pre-transformation blues with, to be close with, to understand the pain of being only half of what you're truly meant to be as a Wolfblood who hadn't yet found their wolf.

But, I had gotten my hopes up for nothing. Full moon rounded the corner, and with it came my Mum's transformation, and Jana's. I had watched with envy as her eyes burned with the liquid fire of the wolf, as her veins grew thick with dark, pulsing Wolfblood. She smiled widely at her black-veined hands, and I slowly realized that this was clearly not her first transformation; she had embraced the change so ferociously that it hurt me to watch.

She had crouched as two legs became four, her teeth grew sharper, and russet fur sprouted from her skin. Soon, she had become a beautiful ginger and white wolf with blazing golden eyes full of excitement of spending an entire night as her true self, her wolf self.

* * *

I eventually got over Jana being a full-fledged Wolfblood. She taught me all there was to being a Wolfblood. I could eventually turn my eyes to their natural primal yellow when my anger got the best of me, but my veins never ran black with the darkened blood of the change; it fizzed through me in heightened moments of anger or stress, but never got to the point of transforming me fully.

My friend Selina from school was also a Wolfblood, and although we never really talked about it, I knew she had already made her first transformation. I went to Mum about it, figuring there must be something wrong with me. She said I need to be patient, that when the time was right and the symptoms appeared, I'd transform.

Well, I grew sick of waiting, of being the uncool one who couldn't transform into an amazing other form, of not understanding and being able to experience the freedom of the wolf.

Then, Matei and Emilia came along. Matei, who went to school with me, was a strong-minded Wolfblood; he even used to believe that Wolfbloods should rule the world, but Jana quickly sorted him out. His sister, although being young for her age, could transform too, due to the fire that had killed her and Matei's parents.

And so, our pack was formed. But, I never truly felt like I really belonged. They could all transform together and muck around as wolves while I watched from the side. It was embarrassing and pathetic for me to not be able to transform yet at sixteen years old.

* * *

So, when Selina called for a pack meeting at the underground den that Matei and Emilia had found, I could only imagine what was going to happen. She was the only one who truly understood my anxieties about not being able to transform yet.

"So, what's this about?" Matei asked, as he settled himself on a pile of old pallets.

"Well, I don't want to make things awkward for the pack," said Selina. "But that is what we are now, isn't it? A pack. So...it's time we made someone alpha. Properly."

My heart sank and my face grew warm as I realized what was about to happen. "Now?"

Selina looked at me sympathetically, which made my cheeks burn all the hotter, "You don't have to stay, if you feel too weird."

"Why would I feel weird?" I snapped. Selina looked at me, eyebrows raised, and I quickly looked away. I knew she wasn't about to go and say it, but of course there was a very good reason for me to feel left out. I knew exactly what was going to happen next, and I wanted nothing more in that very moment than for the ground to swallow me up whole.

Just then, Jana came bounding into the damp underground room, a carefree smile on her face as she stopped in front of us. She looked at us with curiosity, "What's this all about?"

As one, Selina, Emilia, and Matei crouched low in front of her, submitting themselves to her with a typical Wolfblood bow. I slowly sunk down behind them, pressing my hand to the cold floor, not daring to look up. I could sense her eyes on me, but it quickly subsided.

"Alright, then!" she exclaimed, easily accepting our obeisance before crouching down like the rest of us.

At once, growls filled the room as the pack began to transform. Human eyes of blue, green, and brown yellowed with the burning spirit of the wolf. Black tendrils of wolfblood pulsed through their veins, standing out stark against a backdrop of pale human skin. I rose from my spot, teeth bared in a frustrated snarl of blunt human teeth. I looked miserably at my hands; they were free from the black veins signifying a transformation, and I sighed. Looking around me, I saw all four other members of my pack with glowing yellow eyes alight with excitement, saw the pulsing inky veins standing out on their necks, faces, and hands. More growls filled the air, and then they changed. Fur sprouted from skin, teeth became fangs, and nails sharpened to claws.

Jana finished first, as she should as the rightful alpha of our pack, swishing her scarlet tail in satisfaction. Emilia was next, having became a slight brown she-wolf with darker paws. Her brother was all sleek dark brown fur and muscle, his shoulders rippling as he paced, teeth bared in a content wolfish grin. Lastly was Selina's breathtaking form. A gradient of smoky black fur covered her softly, subtle muscles visible under her smooth pelt. Her sparkling yellow eyes reminded me of twin suns, and she wagged her tail playfully at Emilia before jumping on her with a playful growl.

Jana padded up to me, yellow eyes glazed with sympathy for me, and I turned away from her. She snorted in frustration, and I heard the clacking of her claws on the concrete as she walked away to rejoin the pack.

I looked down when I felt something, or rather someone, licking my hand; it was Selina, of course. I smiled at her tightly, and she cocked her head at me and whined quietly, before quickly shaking herself and padding over to Emilia.

I watched as the four transformed Wolfbloods gathered in a circle before raising their muzzles to the open roof and howling for all they were worth. Jana's high-pitched howl was strong and powerful, signifying her leader status. Emilia and Selina joined in with some more quiet yowls, eyes closed in the freedom of baying at the world that didn't know they existed. Matei padded to sit beside Jana, and he joined in with a deep, vibrating howl full of a heavy emotion I couldn't quite understand.

I slowly stood and made to slip away from the howling Wolfbloods when they all stopped their howls abruptly and started to whine; I'd obviously been caught.

Before I could say anything, Jana and Selina had already turned back into humans, and Matei and Emilia were quick to follow. I glared at Jana as she tried to step closer to me, her eyes widening in disbelief as she backed away from me. Selina gave me a cold look, and I immediately felt ashamed.

"Look, Jana, I'm sorry. I'm just so fed up with being left out of pack-related things because I can't transform into a stupid wolf yet! I mean, who am I kidding; I'm sixteen and should have transformed years ago!" I vented heatedly, my pent-up frustrations about transforming spilling over as I finally reached my boiling point.

She nodded in understanding, "TJ, I get it; I really do. Back in the wild pack, it's considered a huge right of passage when a cub reaches their fourteenth year. As the daughter of the reigning alpha, it was an especially huge deal for me when I reached the full moon after I turned fourteen. But, not everything always goes as planned. I hadn't shown any of the typical symptoms of a transforming Wolfblood, and when the moon rose that night, I didn't transform. Sure, I was confused and disappointed, and my father was shocked for a while, but I moved on and transformed a few months later than normal. Every Wolfblood transforms when the time is right, and traditions aside, it's a momentous occasion when it finally does happen. So trust me, TJ, when I say we all get what you're going through, and will support you as an equal pack member, transformation aside."

Reaching her hand out to me, I smiled sheepishly and relented, gasping internally at her innate alpha strength as she pulled me into a tight hug. I chuckled lightly, hooking my arms over her shoulders and hugging her back, all of my anger dissipating. I was fine for now, my worries easily assuaged by my packmates. But, my peace of mind wouldn't last forever.

* * *

In the following weeks, my mind had been in constant turmoil, and I hadn't the slightest idea what was wrong with me. My mood had been like a raging hurricane—peaceful one moment, then the next, I'm ready to scream in fury at absolutely nothing. My ears were supersonic; I could suddenly hear even the slightest of frequencies, and that wasn't even the worst of it. My gums and teeth ached constantly, my mouth like a swiss-army knife. And don't even get me started on my nose. I was constantly aware of every single smell around me, and let me tell you, as an active athlete, the smell of sweat in the boy's locker room was absolutely horrid. To top it all off, I've had a _wonderful_ fever and chills for the past day, adding to my already stellar symptoms.

But, per usual, I kept this all to myself. Sure, let me ask my packmates for help...not! I thought puberty was bad, but these new changes definitely weren't on my radar. Of course, eventually my Mum, sick and tired of my constant snapping at her at the drop of a hat, pieced my new "developments" together and delivered me a shocking blow.

After yelling at her for the umpteenth time that day over eating us out of bacon, which I'd knowingly finished that morning, she gained this aura of serene calm and understanding. Smiling at me brightly, she exclaimed, "TJ, I was foolish not to realize sooner! The fever, the raging mood swings, your heightened senses. It all makes sense now!"

Per usual those days, I glared at her, not liking her beating around the bush: "Quit stalling, Mum! Get on with it!"

Instead of glaring back as she normally would, she raised out of her seat next to me and gathered me in a warm hug. Leaning close to my ear, she whispered a certain few words I'd never dreamed I'd be hearing, not now, not ever: "You're going to transform, son!"

I couldn't help it; I howled out of sheer joy. My terrible mood forgotten, I danced around the kitchen on top of the world. I had never thought that these were the symptoms of an encroaching transformation, so I'd merely passed them off as side-effects of typical teenage angst, or something similar. "Oh finally, Mum! Can. Not. _Wait_ to give Jana a run for her money!"

She smiled fondly at me, shooing me out of her arms and out the door to tell my pack the good news. Per usual, I found them in the Kafe, our customary hangout. With my heightened senses, I could finally pick up the individual scents of my pack members. Jana, though out of sight in the kitchen, smelled of cinnamon, cedar bark, and the woods. Matei and Emilia sat at a booth with Selina, and as I headed over to them, I inhaled quietly, rejoicing in my emergent wolf abilities. Selina smelled of spices and wildflowers; Emilia, of burnt wood, and Matei, of clean water and...shaving cream? Snorting from the overpowering artificial scent, I ambled over, grinning like the Cheshire cat. Selina gave me a curious look, and Matei sniffed the air once before smirking at me. Narrowing my eyes at him, I leaned forward, beckoning them to do the same: "You lot will never guess it! I'm gonna transform this coming full moon!"

The reaction from my packmates was comical to say the least, and greatly startled the other patrons in the Kafe. Selina and Emilia had squealed loudly before engulfing me in warm hugs, while Matei cuffed my shoulder, loudly proclaiming, "At long last, welcome to the pack, mate!"

When their catcalling had died down, I rose out of my seat and explained I was going to find our alpha and tell her my good news, bidding my packmates a hasty farewell before looking for Jana. Following my brilliant new sense of smell, I located her upstairs in the flat she and Katrina shared above the Kafe. I continued sniffing around loudly, picking up all sorts of interesting kitchen scents, eventually headed up the stairs to confront her. However, as I turned the corner, I was so keyed in on Jana's earthy, welcoming scent that I hadn't picked up the overwhelming artificial smell of perfume reeking from Katrina. We walked right into each other, and in a new and slightly exhilarating response, I bared my teeth in shock, feeling them sharpen to fangs as the Wolfblood finally pounded in my veins and darkened them in my untapped wolfy state.

Katrina had landed in a heap on the floor, but before she turned over to face me with a bewildered "TJ?", I was already dashing down the hall, veins having already subsided and fangs retracted.

Before I could congratulate myself on a good job at suppressing my wolf, Jana walked swiftly out of her bedroom, and squealed in shock when I went to lift her high into the air, innate wolf strength humming through my muscles.

"TJ, put me down!" Jana giggled as I swung her round and round in my haze of excitement. "What are you so happy about?"

I smiled at her hugely, puffing my chest out proudly as I told her my good news: "I'm finally going to transform! This full moon will be the best one yet!"

Jana grinned hugely at me, engulfing me in a warm hug, her alpha strength squeezing me tightly. She tipped her head up to look at me, brows wrinkling in thought: "If you're to join the pack this month, we should initiate you properly; after all, you kinda looked put out when we celebrated me being alpha." She stopped herself suddenly, guilt flashing across her face as she brought up that emotional day. I smiled gently at her, abating her worries about offending me.

"I want to be a big part of the pack, Jana. Maybe...right-flank?" I asked her, putting on my best puppy-dog face at her.

She bit her lip as she thought, then began to nod slowly. I whooped loudly, smacking her a high five. Cheekily, I leaned closer to her ear and murmured, "I would request your left, but I think we both know the connotation of a left-flank beta... or is he an alpha now?... _Your_ alpha?"

Jana narrowed her eyes at me and flushed scarlet as I laughed heartily before ducking away from her smacks of embarrassed rage. She growled playfully at me before jumping onto my back, causing me to drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes. We picked ourselves up quickly, shoving each other good-naturedly as we headed back down to celebrate with the pack, _my_ pack.

As we celebrated at the table, I raised my head above the crowd, eyes sweeping the room with good-natured happiness. My eyesight was so, _so_ much clearer; I could see all the light rays refracting off the stained glass windows Katrina insisted on buying for her beloved Kafe.

I felt a gaze on me, so I swivelled mine to meet Selina's. She yellowed her eyes at me playfully, laughing happily when I returned the gesture. She subtly nodded her head towards the back door of the Kafe, which eventually lead to the path to our pack den. I complied, rising and claiming a need for air as I followed her to the back.

Outside, Selina winked at me before legging it at wolf-speed towards the den, silver hijab stained golden by the dying sun. I chuckled and growled lightly before taking after her. She ducked under the rusted iron fence guarding the tunnel leading to the den, and I quickly followed suit, sliding down the old metal duct that lead into our spacious den.

Once inside, she immediately bowed and began to circle me, clearly intent on a play-fight. I rolled my eyes, growling at her as she snarled restlessly. Readying myself, we began to circle, a battle dance as ancient as the stars.

We circled and circled, neither of us letting up an inch. Eventually we came face to face, and before I could react, Selina jumped clean over me and landed on my back, essentially crushing me in a wolf-pile. I heard chuckles coming from behind us, and I turned around unsurprised to see the rest of my pack, sans Katrina, failing to stifle their laughter.

They cheered for us wholeheartedly, spurring us on until Selina backed up and snarled loudly. Crouching low to the ground as the black veins sparked down her arms and her eyes glowed that primal yellow glow, she transformed. I was amazed at how fluid her transformation went; she was clearly at equals with her inner wolf.

Transformation complete, she snorted in satisfaction before ducking into the shadows, hazy pelt blending in perfectly with the inky darkness of our den. She advanced slowly, whining softly and wagging her tail, persuading me to join in.

I heard the rest of my pack walk to join us, and we once more formed a ragged circle. They transformed swiftly, dropping to all fours as four pairs of golden eyes searched my own and urged me to change. I complied readily, feeling the wolf fizz just under my skin.

Finally, it would break free and transform me completely. Finally I'd be just like me friends. Finally, I'd be able to understand what it meant to be a true Wolfblood.


End file.
